by Lexi Wilson
I finished my beer and pushed back from the bar. Another shot and another drink sounded like heaven, but I knew my limits. I was looking forward to knocking back another drink or two when I got back home, however.
The drive back to my place was in total silence. I was so focused on what had happened that I didn’t even bother to turn on the radio.
The lights were still off when I pulled up in front of the house. Another check of my phone revealed no new texts or calls or anything else.
Something was off – I was certain of it.
I killed the engine and got out, grabbing my six pack and heading to the front door.
A hot tingling broke out on the back of my neck, like I was being watched, like Amber’s overgrown linebacker of an ex might jump out from behind the nearest bushes and pound me into the dirt.
Not that I’d go down without a fight. He looked like a real rough character, but I hadn’t exactly grown up with a silver spoon in my mouth.
Hopefully it’d never come to that.
Did Amber still love him?
That’s all I could think about as I opened the front door and stepped inside.
It was one thing to have her ex, the father of her child, in her life. But the possibility that she still had feelings for him…it was too much to bear.
I flicked on the lights. And sure enough, there wasn’t a soul inside. My place seemed bigger than before, and not in a good way.
I set my six pack on the counter and grabbed one out, the buzz from the drinks at the bar finally starting to kick in.
But before I had a chance to twist the cap off my beer, I spotted a note on the counter. Right away I knew it was Natalie’s handwriting.
I set down my beer and snatched up the note, reading it over with eager eyes.
“Dear Big Brother,
I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just be as blunt as possible. I need to go off and find my own way. I know you’ve given me so much to make sure I’ve had a good life, and I’ll never forget it. But this is what I need to do. I left without telling because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it. You’re good like that, always watching out for me. I’ll be back soon.
I hope one day you can forgive me for this.
Natalie”
I set the note down, leaning against the counter.
I had to do something. As overwhelmed as I felt, there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let my little sister go off into the world without me knowing where she was, how she was doing.
I went through my phone, finding the number of a private investigator I’d used a few times over the years.
My life felt like it was coming unglued.
But I wasn’t going to simply stand around and watch it happen.
Chapter 31
AMBER
I wanted to see Nick again so damn badly.
Especially after what had happened last night.
Marcus had been waiting for us, ready to finish the conversation we’d started back at the hotel.
And this time, he wanted to make sure Jamie knew her daddy was back.
She was confused as hell, however. After all, Marcus had gone away before she been born.
And he matched her confusion with his own. He didn’t seem to understand how his little girl, his own flesh and blood, didn’t recognize her own father.
The process, like I’d expected it would be, was stressful for her. Luckily, Nan was there and she had the sense to hurry Jamie inside before she could get too overwhelmed.
“What the hell are you doing?” I’d asked once the door was shut.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” he asked, anger in his voice. “I’m here to see my family. You think a man can have a daughter out there and not want to be with her?”
“I get that,” I said. “But maybe that’s something you should’ve considered when you walked out on us, Marcus. This isn’t how shit works. You can’t just come and go as you please. That girl in there’s gotten used to life without a father, and now you want to change all of that because you got a would hair up your ass about doing what you should’ve done years ago.”
He forced his mouth into a hard line, and I could tell my words had penetrated through his gruff exterior.
“I…I fucked up, alright? I made a mistake.”
“You made two mistakes,” I said, raising an accusing finger in front of him. “First, you walked out on me. Then, you went out and got your ass arrested and thrown into jail.”
“I know,” he said. “I know. But I want to do things right now.”
“Oh, so you’re starting ‘doing things right’ by waiting for me in front of my house after I’d you I’d be in touch when I was good and ready.”
“I couldn’t help it,” he said. “Knowing my little girl was out there, wondering where her daddy was…it made me lose control.”
His words sent a chill up my spine. It was an excuse he’d used many times before, that I’d done something that simply made him “lose control.” And most of the time it wasn’t even something that I’d done, but something he’d thought I’d done, like make eyes at another man at some party.
I had to be smart about what was happening.
“Marcus, you have to give me time to process this, to give all of us time to process this. You know where we live, and we’re not going anywhere. Go on and get a hotel nearby, and I’ll be in touch soon. OK?”
He took in a slow breath.
“O…OK,” he said. “But you know I want to be sharing that bed with you tonight. And I bet deep down part of you’s thinking the same thing.”
To make his point, he took my chin into his hand and leaned in, planting a kiss on my cheek.
I said nothing, not wanting to make him lose his cool – something I’d seen happen many times before.
“I’ll talk to you soon, baby girl.”
And then he was gone.
“Hey, Amber!”
I snapped back into the moment, looking around as if I’d woken up in someplace I didn’t recognize.
But I was in my bathroom, the faucet on full blast in front of me, the skin full nearly to the brim.
I turned it off and looked over my shoulder.
Nan was there, an expression of concern on her face.
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”
“Well, you’re right. But there’s two ‘hims’ to think about.”
“Which one was it just then? The one that was making you stare off into space like a mental patient.”
She smiled, her way of lightening the mood.
“The one who just broke out of prison and who’s probably using every bit of restraint he has not to drive over to Nick’s and beat the living snot out of him.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” she said. “You didn’t tell me much about Marcus, but I remember those nights you’d call me, scared out of your damn mind that night might be the one he’d finally snap and hurt you.”
She was right. Marcus was putting on as civil of a face as he could, but I knew I was, as she’d said, just a matter of time before he snapped.
“And what about Nick?” she asked. “That look on his face when I told him about the package.”
“You didn’t need to tell him that,” I said, my tone sharp.
“No, you’re wrong – he needed to know. And it’s almost a blessing in disguise that Marcus came when he did. You’ve got this whole life you used to live, and you can’t pretend it never happened. He needed to find out, baby.”
I sighed, not knowing what else to say.
“I’ll take Jamie to school. But she’s also going to need to know the whole story. With every day that passes she’s going to get a little smarter, a little more mature. And if she gets into her teens and finds out that you’ve been lying to her about all this…”
She trailed off – it wasn’t necessary for her to finish.
“I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Good,” she said. �
��Because life’s going to happen – it’s your call whether you take control or not.”
She left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. When I was dressed, I stepped out to say goodbye to Jamie. I kissed her, and when I took my lips from her cheek there was a faraway look in her eyes.
“I have a daddy?” she asked, confused.
“You’ve got a daddy.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
I gave her another hug before Nan took her out of the house and off to school.
The tension only increased in my gut as I drove to the office. Nick was professional, and I was certain he’d be able to keep himself in check and not make a scene.
But there was no doubt he’d be thinking about it, wondering what the hell was going on between us.
I’d fucked up big time, and I could only hope it didn’t mean my life was on the brink of crashing down all around me.
I arrived at the office, hurrying through the lobby, trying to ignore the gaze of his portrait on the wall. A check of my phone when the elevator doors opened revealed that I was on time.
But Nick’s door was opened slightly when I reached my desk. There was no sign that he’d been there.
Shit. It wasn’t a good sign.
Part of me wanted to play it cool, to simply get started on the day’s work.
But I didn’t. I took out my phone and called him. I needed to know that everything was alright.
To my relief, he answered.
“Amber,” he said. “I was just about to call you.”
“Good morning,” I said, my heart racing. “You’re not here yet – anything you want me to get started on?”
“There’s…a little bit of a situation.”
Oh, great. More drama.
“What’s going on?”
“While we were away my sister Natalie…she ran off.”
“Wait, what? She ran off?”
“She packed some things and left the house. There was a note telling me she wasn’t planning on coming back.”
“This is insane. Did she tell you where she was going?”
“No. So, I’ve hired a private investigator to track her down. If she doesn’t want to live with me and be a part of my life, that’s her call. But at the very least I’m going to make sure she’s safe.”
“Good call. Then…is there any way I can help?”
“You can keep things running at the office. Treat it like I called in sick – let anyone who’s looking to meet with me know I’m going to be unavailable for the day, maybe even a little longer. And as far as everything else, I’m going to have to trust you to handle it. OK?”
“OK. But please, keep me posted. Not just on work – I want to know your sister’s OK.”
“I will. And I’ll be around if you have any questions.”
We said our goodbyes and hung up.
I dropped into my chair when the call was over, relieved that -at the very least- I still had a job.
But it was one more situation he was going to have to deal with.
I could only hope it wasn’t one too many.
Chapter 32
NICK
It felt good to hear Amber’s voice again.
But with Natalie gone, all my wants and needs fell by the wayside. I wanted my sister back, and nothing else mattered.
I was back home. Roger Hill, the private investigator, was there with me. He was a tall, trim man dressed in business-casual clothes, his white hair close-cropped, his expression serious. We’d spent the day working together, with me providing him whatever information I could that might help him locate Natalie. It was getting late in the day, the sun beginning to set.
“Her phone,” I said. “Can’t we use her phone to track her?”
“It’s possible, but there’re a few catches.”
“Such as?”
“Well, are you two on the same plan?”
I shook my head. “She insisted on paying for her own bills a year ago.”
“Then you’re not going to be able to legally access her phone.”
“But what if we tell the police she’s gone?”
“No dice there, either. The police won’t be able to do anything until you file a missing persons report, and that’s not an option until she’s been missing for forty-eight hours. Then you’ll have the matter of having the police involved. You don’t want that.”
He was right, but it was still frustrating as hell. I felt helpless – and helpless wasn’t an emotion I dealt with well.
“Then what’s the call?” I asked.
“I can do some investigating here. Do I have permission to go into her room and look around?”
“Of course. But…”
He nodded, as if picking up on what I was saying. “I’ll be discreet.”
“I need to do something too,” I said. “Not a chance I’ll be able to wait around doing nothing.”
Before Roger had a chance to respond, the chime of my front door sounded out.
I stepped over to the security feed to see who it was.
Amber.
Despite everything going on, I was happy to see her.
“Hey,” she said, her voice soft. “I-“
“You don’t need to explain. Come in.”
I stepped aside and she entered. Roger introduced himself before sensing I wanted to be alone with Amber. When he was gone upstairs, her and I stood in front of one another, neither of us sure what to say.
She was the first to speak. “I…I wanted to do something. Jamie’s with Nan, and I decided to come by here and see how things were going with Natalie.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said. “I’ve got professional help.”
“Yeah, he most definitely looked like the professional type.” She added a smile at the end. “But…there’s something to be said for a woman’s intuition.”
“Is that right?” I asked with a smile of my own. “You think you’ve got some special insight into the situation?”
“Well, maybe. Maybe not. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes out looking.”
Then her expression became grave.
“Listen,” she said. “About…everything that happened.”
My stomach tightened up at the mere mention of it.
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine. But if you’re OK putting it all aside for now, then I am too. Natalie’s the big concern.”
She nodded, and I could sense she was relieved by my words.
The door opened upstairs, and Roger appeared.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said as he briskly trotted down the stairs. “Because I’ve got a game plan.”
“Is that right?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ve been looking over the information you gave me about her day-to-day routines. It’s not a lot to go on, but I think it’s enough to at least start the process of looking. I’m thinking I can start by poking around at her college – it’s looking like she’d been tutoring students part-time for a little extra spending money. I’ll start there, see if I can learn anything from them.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
He began to pack up his things.
“And,” he went on, “I’ll of course keep you posted at every step of the way.”
When he was done, he departed with a professional nod, shutting the door softly behind him.
And as soon as he was gone, a curious expression formed on Amber’s face.
She was thinking something.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked.
“That…” she wagged her finger toward where Roger had been sitting and packing up his belongings. “That’s a good idea on the surface.”
“What is?”
“Going around to where she normally spends her time. It makes a certain level of sense.”
“But you’re not sold that it’s the best strategy,” I said, eager to hear what she had in mind. “What are you thinking?”
Her brow sti
ll knitted in concentration, she walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup as she spoke.
“When I was working at Diamonds, we had a fair share of girls who’d run away from home. And you might be surprised to find out that a bunch of them were from good families.”
My eyes flashed. “Wait – don’t tell me you’re thinking Natalie ran off to become a stripper.”
She gave me a sly grin. “Why, would that be so bad?”
“Just…not the life I imagined for her. No offense.”
“None taken. But she’s not really the type.”
“There’s a type?”
“Of good girls who run off to do bad things? Oh, sure. They’ve usually got workaholic dads, moms who spend more time at brunch with their rich friends than caring about their daughters. When these kinds of girls go off to strip it’s usually because in the backs of their minds they’re hoping to get caught. It’s their way of scaring their parents into proving that they love her, if that makes sense.”
“Sure – acting out for attention.”
“More or less. But with Natalie…the problem doesn’t seem like you’ve been neglecting her. I don’t doubt for a second that she loves you, and knows you love her.”
I nodded toward the coffee maker, and she got what I was saying, grabbing another mug and filling it before handing it over to me.
“Then what’s your theory?”
“My theory is that whatever you’re doing, she’s likely not hoping you find out so you can pay attention to her. What’s probably going on is that she’s doing something, or has done something, that she’s afraid of you finding out about.”
“Like what?” I began to feel worried, imagining drugs…or worse.
She shrugged. “It’s hard to say. But I don’t think Roger’s plan is the right call. She’s smart, right?
“Smart as they come.”
She nodded, as if this confirmed her suspicion. “Then she’s going to know that you know about her daily routine. Meaning she’s going to avoid it at all costs. If she’s still in town then she’s going to be going wherever it is that you would think of as the last place to find her.”
